The story of Tyler Perry.
Tyler was accepted into a low-ranking U.S. Law school. It’s an achievement, but it doesn’t sound impressive, right?
He was the eldest of five siblings. His single mother struggled to keep the family afloat, so Tyler started working at 8 years old, a cleaning job to help support his mom.
School wasn’t easy for Tyler. He couldn’t afford the books and frequently missed class because of work. He answered the questions wrong. The kids laughed, and teachers thought he was dim. Tyler didn’t care. He knew the power of education. He knew it was how he would help his family.
When Tyler’s mother was almost killed in a fatal car accident, and he missed his exams, the teacher wouldn’t let him resit them. So he asked to take on a project to earn the extra credit. When he needed a computer, off to work he went. His family still needed the money he earned from cleaning, so Tyler picked up an apron and headset, getting started at his local Burger King.
Tyler worked three jobs: cleaning by day, fast food by night and looking after his younger siblings around the clock with his mom in the hospital, all while attending school and studying. Tyler got his computer. It took nine months, but only two until someone stole it. The next day, with no time for delay, he went to his local internet café. Noticing the dirty state it was in, he approached the manager.
“Good Afternoon, sir. My name is Tyler. I don’t suppose you could use some cleaning around here?”
Like that, Tyler had a new computer, exchanging work to use the café whenever he pleased. Later that year, Tyler graduated from community college.
Here we are, a student accepted into a low-ranked U.S. law school.
Too often, we judge a person’s success by their destination.
But we can only see two people arriving at Z, unaware that one may have twirled from Y and another, Tyler, has clawed from A.
We can only discover genuine success and achievement when we look at the journey.
What doesn’t sound impressive but really is?
Tyler Perry, just another student, enrolled in Law.
